The grey dusk sky was interrupted in intervals of human silhouettes, one after another forced into the negative space. The orange glow of small fire’s illuminatedthe hillside in an ever changing pattern while the crush of thousands adorned in black moved with the force of a swelling river to the soundtrack of the apocalypse. My 14 year old eyes glazed with fear and amazement at the complete and total chaos as the sky rained sod, funnel cake and pizza toppings. Continue reading “The Big Picture: 2017 U.S. Cyclocross Nationals, The Coming Storm”

With a full tank of gas and a full mug of coffee I pointed my car to the east. The rolling hills of Pennsylvania, interrupted only by forgotten towns, go on endlessly through the grey winter landscape. My mind wonders from where I should try to find lunch to if anything can stand in the way of Stephen Hyde becoming the next National Champion? Continue reading “The Big Picture: Stephen Hyde, National Champion”

There’s a warm wash that comes over the body, hands light on the bars, the sounds surrounding drowned into a sweet hum, and there’s almost a detachment from one’s self, as if you’re watching someone else pilot your body through the terrain. Continue reading “The Big Picture: Capital ‘Cross Classic”

There is this voice that often shows up in the back my mind whenever I’m about to do something the slightest bit risky, whether it’s on a bike, my skateboard, sleeping outside in cold temperatures, getting on a plane to go somewhere new, this voice ever so faint telling me “don’t do it.” I immediately question the voice, “but this is what I want, plus it’s going to be fun” as the voice sends its rebuttals with “you could get hurt, sick, you might die!” Continue reading “The Big Picture: Fall Down Get Up”

Let’s take a slight walk back in time to Louisville Kentucky during the 2013 cyclocross world championships. The whole of the cyclocross community descended upon Eva Bandman Park to witness the greatest competitors of the sport race under snowy skies while the Ohio River threatened to rise and consume the course forcing all four of the weekends categories to take place on Saturday. I will argue that this was one of, if not the greatest sporting event that has ever taken place on American soil. Sure, you can say that I am biased and that is certainly true when it comes to cyclocross but let me pose a small argument to back up my claims. Continue reading “The Big Picture: Rockburn CX”

Pedaling down back lanes surrounded by the bright yellows and oranges of the autumn leaves, my mind wanders from one thought to the next, from simple ideas to meaning-of-life level questions. It’s on the bike alone I have found that my mind opens itself with ease. There are times where I have felt like I have written the greatest short story of all, word after word flowing and painting these visions of adventure and peril, of emotional highs and lows of humanity and it’s all there strung effortlessly together. Continue reading “The Big Picture: Kings CX”

While the mass of our peers were usually headed to football games, movies and awkward dates to Applebees we would plug cheap guitars into cheaper amplifiers and smash away at elementary song writing. Like most misfit teenagers who were into to skateboarding, it didn’t take long until we discovered punk rock. Between going to shows and listening to records, at a certain point a few of us thought collectively ‘this doesn’t seem that hard and definitely looks like a lot of fun,’ so we formed a band.Continue reading “The Big Picture: Pan Am Champs”

There are days when the house is empty and the breeze blows through the front window that I just lay on the floor and imagine I’m surfing. Paddling hard into a rising wave, feeling the push and power propelling me to the shore, I pop up and admire my ability to work in tandem with the water, cutting hard back to my left towards the waves crest and then quickly slashing right back into the perfect glassy pocket, water sprays and catches the ever changing oranges and purples as the sun dips into to the sea. Continue reading “The Big Picture: Cyclocross and the Zen of Surfing”